Nikkei may fall sharply as U.S. sell-off continues

TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Tokyo stocks are expected to book heavy losses on Monday, with the Nikkei average falling below 17,000 for the first time in nearly two months, after the recent sell-off continued in New York and due to the stronger yen.

Nikkei futures pointed to a steep decline in the market. Contracts expiring in March <2NKc1> finished at 16,865 in Chicago, down 295 points from the close in Osaka <JNIc1>.

"Today is going to hurt," said Shinji Igarashi, equity manager at the sales department of Chuo Securities.

"There really aren't any reasons to buy at all ... exporters and high-tech stocks are likely to come under pressure because of the stronger yen."

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The yen <JPY=> hit a three-month high against the dollar on Monday morning in Tokyo. A stronger yen is a negative for exporters as it eats into profits when earnings from abroad are brought home.

The Nikkei <.N225> is likely to move between 17,250 and 16,750 on Monday, market sources said.

A fall below 17,000 would be the first since Jan. 12.

The benchmark lost 1.35 percent on Friday, to 17,217.93, erasing its gains for the year and booking its worst week in eight months.

U.S. stocks continued their slide on Friday, booking their worst week in more than four years. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 1.51 percent.